


Luck

by That_stupid_girl



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 02:59:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3103049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_stupid_girl/pseuds/That_stupid_girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"you were the cashier giving me weird looks when I bought a ton of ugly Christmas jumpers so I told you they were for my grandma but you happened to be at a party I wore one to and you saw me AU"</p><p>or</p><p>Cosima hasn't really gotten over her girlfriend and hasn't taken another social anxiety test since she scored higher than she wanted on the last one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Luck

Cosima had been waiting for months to replace her old Christmas sweaters. These last eleven months had been the only time since she was three when she had not been in possession of at least one (intact) outrageous holiday sweater. She had been meaning to buy more for a few years because she kept ripping them or spilling things on them or accidentally setting them on fire, but she had never remembered because it hadn’t been urgent. But now here she was, nothing in her cart but thirteen sweaters, one of almost every kind they had in the store. There were two that could be considered offensive, so she didn’t get either of those.

  
Continuing on towards the cashiers, she picked up a package of her favorite pens. She got in line at the first register behind a middle aged man with all his items already bagged. She picked up a Kit Kat and placed it on the conveyer belt as he finished paying the pretty cashier. Cosima moved her sweaters and pens to the counter and pushed her cart all the way to the front so that she was in front of the cashier. The cashier smiled at her, probably trying her best to not look quite so miserable. It didn’t work, but she was probably trying.

  
The girl, Delphine according to her name tag, started to ring up the sweaters. She glanced at Cosima and, when she saw Cosima was watching her, shot her a forced smile that read like “what-the-fuck-are-you-doing-buying-all-these-sweaters-you’re-going-to-look-like-a-total-idiot” and Cosima didn’t really like that she cared. She looked like the kind of person who wouldn’t give a damn about what other people said, yet alone thought, but years and years of bullying can really do a lot to a person’s self esteem. Even if that person was 27 and hadn’t even set foot in a high school in over five years.

  
“They’re for my grandma!” Cosima tried to stop herself from blushing as the cashier looked up. Why did she say that? It would have been better to keep quiet.

  
“Yes,” the girl nodded, smiling ever so slightly now. Cosima started to rock back and forth on the heels of her black boots.

  
The girl finished ringing everything up. “Will that be all?” Cosima could tell she was trying desperately to disguise some sort of accent. Cosima nodded, pulling out her wallet.

  
“One twenty-six forty-three.”

\--------------------------------------------------

Parties always made her nervous, at least until she was tipsy. Or not even parties, just largish parties where she didn’t know no less than 90% of the people attending. But it was five days until Christmas and she didn’t have any plans. And watching nerdy tv shows with takeout nine days in a row did seem a little bit sad.

  
She had been sitting around in only her (moderately sexy) underwear all day and she thought she should probably get dressed before going to the party. But only because it was cold outside since she looked damn good in this underwear and would have at least considered wearing it if it was warmer.

  
The sweater she put on was black with red and white and more black zigzaggy stripes and wrapped presents. Black leggings, black boots, red coat, and she’s ready to go. She grabbed her purse on the way out the door. It’s already 7:46 and open house parties are good because it’s hard to be late.

  
It’s -6° (Celsius) and Cosima was more than a little bit cold, but Scott's bar was only a few blocks away and she didn’t really have the money for a cab. She tried to convince herself that it wasn't nearly as cold as it was. Even so, by the time she gets there just a few minutes later her cheeks are flushed and her fingers, despite their rather stationary position deep in her pockets, felt frozen.

  
"Cosima! Nice to see you, man! I didn't think you'd come!" Scott shook his head, momentarily succeeding in getting his red hair out of his eyes. "Just, you know, put your shit in the back room," he told her, motioning with his hand in the general direction. Cosima nodded, already starting to shed her coat as she neared the break room/storage room.

  
The room was, thankfully, empty, save for the jackets and bags but she wasn't really counting those. She set her coat and bag down on an empty chair in the corner, away from everyone else things. She slid her glasses down her nose a bit and pressed her still cold fingertips to her eyelids, breathing deeply. It's not hard. It's just a party. Get yourself together.

  
She walked briskly back into the party, head held slightly higher than a few moments before. A cup is deposited in her hand by Vincent, Scott's roommate. She smiles at him and takes a sip of what is apparently vodka and some kind of energy drink. She catches Scott's eye from his position behind the bar and lifts her cup with a raised eyebrow. He holds up a can of red Monster and motions her over in response. The room's sort of crowded and the music's sort of loud so Scott sort of had to yell for her to hear him.

  
"Hey I forgot to tell you but Jay's here. I didn't invite and neither did Vincent or Kay. We don't know why he's here or how he even knew about it. I can kick him out if you want?" She shook her head and Scott nodded. "Okay, well just wanted to warn you, man." She nodded again, looking around briefly before walking away. She was immediately replaced by his not-girlfriend, Lucy. She had only consumed half the cup and was still relatively sober, but she set the cup down on the counter, attempting to get to the bathroom.

  
"Cosima, babe." She really didn't want to talk to him right now.

  
"Hey, Jay." She didn't even turn all the way around, and she definitely didn't meet his eyes.

  
"Aw c'mon, girl. You and Lily still a thing? You gonna make out for me tonight?" He winked. She just shook her head and continued to the bathroom, ignoring his yells about how hot the two of them are (were).

  
The bathroom door was closed, so she didn't even knock, just stood outside and waited. After a minute or two the door opened and Cosima literally could not have worse luck. The ginger's face was slightly shocked, but she recovered quickly, greeting Cosima like she hadn't broken her heart.

  
"Hey, Lily. Nice to see you." Lily nodded and started to move away, only to have her path blocked by a tall guy with jerk hair and a smirk that screams "asshole" who put his hand on her arm.

  
"Hey, Lils. Great to see you, babe." He turned his body so he could sling his arm over Cosima's shoulders. Lily tried to move out of the way and his grip on her arm tightened and Cosima's knows that they aren't a thing anymore and Lily didn't even want to be around her right now but she wants to make him let go of her. Instead, she crossed her arms, tucking her still ice-cold hands under her armpits.

  
"Now that I've got you both here..." From the second he started talking Cosima knew this was not going to go well. "Who's gonna kiss who? C'mon, for me? Just a little?" Cosima is more uncomfortable than she's been in months and Lily looks like she might kill Jay. Or Cosima. There's a moment of complete silence and Cosima glances over her shoulder just as Scott caught sight of the three of them.

  
And then Lily exploded.

  
She tore her arm out of Jay's grip and "We were never a fucking thing!" and her hair that still managed to be simultaneously white and strawberry blonde was flying and "It was just one girl's fucking delusion" and Cosima couldn't tell if she was shaking from anger or if she was just yelling and whirling around so fast her body couldn't keep up and "It was one-sided! I never liked her! I just liked the attention but I'm not a fucking dyke!" and Cosima didn't even have to turn around to know that everyone in there was staring.

  
Lily's face was red and her fingers were white and she was blocking the quickest escape. Cosima was sort of having a hard time breathing and she hated that she still thought Lily looked beautiful. Lily slowly seemed to realize what had just happened, and her hands fly to cover her mouth as if she can trap everything she let out two minutes ago inside.

  
"Cosima..." Lily wasn't shouting this time, but everyone could probably still hear her. "I am so-" She stopped and Cosima knew that the only thing she could be considering was whether she wanted to save her reputation and the image she wanted to put out or the girl that she denied being in love with's feelings. Cosima didn't want to see the outcome, so she pushed past Lily, as gently as she could manage while being as harsh as possible, and closed the bathroom door behind her.

  
She didn't leave until long after she heard Scott yelling at Jay more than he was yelling at Lily and telling him to get the fuck out and telling Vincent to please drive Lily home. She didn't come out until ten minutes exactly after the music started again and now she was barely able to hear it.

  
She slipped out of the bathroom, trying to draw as little attention to herself as was possible in her current situation. Scott saw her, though. He had probably been watching the door. After motioning her over to the bar, he gave Lucy a kiss on the cheek and waved her off, waiting for Cosima to cross the room. He opened the gate and she stepped up, immediately moving to the corner. He gave her coat and her purse and a plastic bag and a gentle smile before telling her that she can go if she wants and that he would not be even slightly offended. Smiling back at him, she gives him a quick but tight hug and leaves.

  
It seems so quiet outside, even though she can still hear the music blasting and the people shouting. It's cold and she doesn't know why she didn't realize how wonderful the cold was before. She quickly looks into the plastic bag before shoving it inside her purse and not moving. She had just realized how much she really felt like crying and walking home was not something she was looking forward to. Bent over, she rested her hands on her knees and closed her eyes, taking deep breathes to try to calm herself down.

  
She hears the door open followed by the magnification of the sound inside and immediately straightens up. It gets quiet again before she has time to see who left. A tall slim girl sidles up beside her and pulls a cigarette from the pack in her coat pocket and Cosima feels like she's met her before. The girl cups her hand and is inhaling after the quick click of the lighter. Cosima doesn't remember why she thought Lily looked so pretty tonight. The girl seemed to look her up and down and Cosima wanted to say something. Cosima has wanted a lot of things, though, and not many of them have worked out.

  
"You said those sweaters were for your grandmother." There's a bit of accusation behind her voice and the cashier sounds slightly betrayed. And Cosima's pretty sure her name is Delphine and her accent is French.

  
"I- Oh." Cosima knows that the flush in her cheeks is from more than the cold.

  
"Well you see, my grandmother actually died, the other day, and so I'm just wearing these to commemorate her death." Cosima nods after saying this. The twinkle of amusement in the cashier's eyes and the horribly suppressed smile are more than Cosima had hoped for.

  
"I am very sorry for your loss. When did she die?" Cosima opened her mouth, only to close it again because who cares if this girl knows she likes to wear stupid sweaters, she also knows that Cosima is gay and very much not dating someone.

  
"Ah, nine years ago. I was 18. She was 86. Real tragedy."

  
"I'm Delphine. Enchanté." She held out her hand.

  
"Cosima. Enchanté." She takes Delpine's outstretched hand and knows how terrible her accent must be, judging by the laugh Delphine tries to stop.

  
"I didn't think those sweaters could look cute on anyone. You have proven me wrong." It was stupid that Cosima blushed when she was flustered.

  
"It'd look better on you." The execution was very smooth, but it would've been better if her face was even the slightest bit less red. Both of their faces now had a pink tint and it made Cosima smile.

  
"It is my birthday tomorrow, and I was wondering if you would like to leave and go get some coffee with me to celebrate?" Delphine seemed too unsure for the way Cosima knew her face lit up.

  
"Shit! Yeah, I'd love to. God, that's in like 2 hours! Happy birthday! Are you sure you want to celebrate it with me?"

  
"Of course! There is this bakery a few blocks from here and they have amazing croissants. For Americans." Cosima laughed, trying to shove her hand even deeper in her pockets than they already were, as if that would make much of a difference.

  
"Are you cold?" Delphine didn't wait for an answer before tugging at her arm. When Cosima removed her hand from her pocket, Delphine immediately grabbed it. She gently pulled Cosima closer to her before fitting both of their hands into her own pocket. Cosima would deal with one hand being cold if this was what the other would feel like. Delphine walked down the street only a few steps before hailing a cab better than even Cosima could. Delphine pushed Cosima into the car in front of her and scooted farther towards her than was necessary.

  
They got out at the coffee shop and neither girl corrected the driver or the waitress when they told them what a cute couple they made. Delphine didn't mention Lily or Jay or the words they both had used and Cosima didn't tell her that she hated the sip of black coffee Delphine gave her. They talked until Cosima leaned across the table at midnight to give Delphine a birthday kiss and Cosima was pretty sure that she may be just a little bit luckier than she thought.


End file.
